File Manager - View/Edit Tool

Overview of View/Edit Tool

The View/Edit tool provides a useful way to edit files directly on the WebCt server that is hosting your course. There are three methods for accessing the View/Edit tool. The first two methods access the Edit component; the third accesses the View component.

To access the Edit mode of the View/Edit tool:
1. Mark a file and press Edit in the File Manager toolbar. The View/Edit window will now appear (see Figure 1 below).
2. Create a new file using the Create button on the File Manager toolbar. Because this new file will not contain data, WebCT opens the View/Edit tool to allow you to put data in the new file.

Figure 1 Using the Edit mode of the View/Edit tool

To access the View mode of the View/Edit tool:
1. Click the hyperlinked filename. This opens the View/Edit tool in View mode. Instead of a text box appearing in the right frame (see Figure 1 above), you will see the file as it appears to the student (see Figure 2 below). You cannot edit a file in the View mode.

Figure 2 Using the View mode of the View/Edit tool

Editing a File | Top

Figure 3 below illustrates the editor being used on a file called intro.html in the chapter1 directory.

Figure 3 An example of using the editor on a HTML file

There are two ways to determine which file is open in the editing window. First, look in the upper-right corner of the window for the filename and location. Second, look in the directory frame to the left. The selected radio button designates the file being edited..

In the right frame there are a few simple features which are described below.

Save: This button will save the changes made to the file. After pressing the the Save button the View/Edit window will change from the Edit mode to the View mode.
Cancel: This button will change the View/Edit window to the View mode without making any changes to the file.
The Text Box is used to edit the contents of a file. In the example shown in Figure 3, the contents of the HTML file, intro.html, is displayed
The TextArea Size will allow you to adjust the size of the text box. Adjust the size of the box by using the Width and Height pull down menus to select an appropriate number. The Width and Height numbers will define the size of the text entry box in terms of characters across (width) and lines down (height). Press the Set Size button to refresh the View/Edit window with the new text box. In the above example, the text box width and height parameters are 40 characters across and 10 lines down.

The left frame will remain constant for both the View and Edit mode. The features of this frame are described below.

Home: This button will return you to the main homepage for your course.
Back: This button will return you to the File Manager window.
Current Directory: The current working directory is shown immediately beneath this line. A list of files located in the current working directory are shown next. Each file is hyperlinked. Text and HTML files will have an [Edit] option to their right. If you select a hyperlinked filename, the right frame will show the contents of the file in View mode. If you select the [Edit] hyperlink, the right frame will show the contents of the file in Edit mode.

Viewing a File | Top

You can view image files in the WebCT Editor/View but you cannot edit them. To view the 1.jpg file, click on its hyperlink in the File Manager window. This brings up the window shown in Figure 4. WebCT automatically selects the radio button of the file you choose.

Figure 4 Viewing a file

To view another file just click on its hyperlinked filename. If you wish to switch from View mode to Edit mode for text files, select the [Edit] link located to the right of the file. For more information on editing a file see Editing a File located above.